Press Release

By Ian Harac

USB drives, which can hold 8 or more gigabytes and which are extremely inconspicuous, have become a huge security leak. Contrary to what you may have learned from watching movies, copying files leaves few, if any, traces on your computer. Any passerby with even a few minutes of access to an unattended machine can make off with personal data or company records--or upload a keylogger or Trojan. MyUSBOnly from AC Element Company works to stop this.

MyUSBOnly installs easily enough. The interface is a bit quirky, and the program sometimes doesn't do quite what you'd expect, but after a relatively small amount of fumbling, I got it to work as I wanted. Whenever a USB device is inserted into the computer, MyUSBOnly will demand a password; fail to provide it, and the device doesn't mount. (Of course, it helps if you change the password from the default value!)

This is only the primary feature. It has many others of great use in a corporate environment. For example, it can send email to a specified address any time a USB device is attached or detached. A .msi package is available to allow deployment to multiple computers at once via WinInstall or similar programs. The system can "whitelist" specific devices so that you are not harassed by the logon every time you use your personal USB disk (though email is still sent, if that option is turned on).

It's hard to guarantee there is no way a clever and determined invader can get around this program. If an intruder has physical access to a machine--which is the only time MyUSBOnly is going to be useful, obviously--he has a lot more options than a remote hacker. However, for the majority of scenarios--a visitor seizing an opportunity, or employees using personal or insecure USB devices--MyUSBOnly provides a valuable defense. Recommended.